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| Economy |
| Tainted EPA Report on Fracking Blasted by Gas Co. |
| 2011-12-14 |
| Environmental Protection Agency Strikes Gas! That should have been the headline last week that instead ran as “EPA says fracking may be polluting groundwater.” Here’s the story: the EPA says tests it conducted in Pavillion, Wyoming “indicate that ground water in the aquifer contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing.” However, it turns out that the EPA drilled two monitoring wells to some 900 feet – much deeper than water wells which are usually at about 300 feet – and indeed found hydrocarbons. In short, they drilled into the natural gas reservoir that has long attracted industry producers. It may the single most productive moment in EPA history. The United States has stumbled upon an enormous gift – almost unlimited supplies of natural gas -- that are available because of advances in technology. Improved methods of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, used to recover hitherto “trapped” hydrocarbons in certain rock formations, mean that natural gas could be substituted for other fuels currently used to generate electricity or heat our homes. This could accomplish what many presidents have promised but none has delivered – important strides towards energy independence. Though natural gas cannot easily displace our use of oil for transportation, it can dampen that demand at the margin. Approximately one third of our oil is consumed by 18-wheelers; conversion of truck and lighter vehicle fleets to natural gas would take some time and investment but would leave our air cleaner and our pocketbooks fatter. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #5 It may the single most productive moment in EPA history. There's your Snark of the Day, folks. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-12-14 15:34 |
| #4 The EPA Lied? Wow! That hasn't happened before..... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-12-14 14:44 |
| #3 say the EPA is full of FIFY Bill. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2011-12-14 13:53 |
| #2 They never had any sense of shame---nowadays, they lost any sense of fear. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-12-14 13:42 |
| #1 I call BS on the EPA report. Most water wells are in the range of 300 to, in the case of far west Texas, 1,000 feet. Most gas wells are in excess of 3000 feet. Beavis is right that the EPA drilled too deep in their monitoring wells. The bigger issue is why is it that the EPA is trying to kill every opportunity we have for energy independence? Shale oil, wind farms, nucelar, every one of them has been criticized for either being a pollutant or a danger to wildlife. I say the EPA is full of ex-fanatics that want to destroy our economy. I don't want to sound like an extremist but they seem to want us all to ride horses, live in caves and eat raw food, because cars are bad, buildings are bad and cooking pollutes the air. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2011-12-14 13:39 |